3.30. Due to the cold, I wake up. 8°C in the tent. Raindeers bleat (or low ?... something between). Given the cold I'm late in taking the MD recorder.
When recording begins... they are away. I don't need to sleep anymore but laziness, or rather because of stiffness which has transformed my legs in wooden-legs, I stay in bed.
I finish the rice and strike the tent.
5.45. I'm leaving. The following beach is wonderful. next time I will walk a bit more and put the tent at this place.
There is no track anymore, or rather there are tracks, but wrong tracks. I loose my way. I understand that I'm taking the way of the variant that follows the lake bank and would prevent me to locate the next hut. I come back to the right way.
P1 : La plage | P2 : Le lac Kangerluatsiarsuaq vu du plateau |
Mosquitoes and flies begin to be harassing. The head-net is now a landing track for these tiny insects. I need to use my arms as windscreen wiper.
But the sun is now in my back. Now, I see the head-net and not where I'm walking.
There is now a short but sloppy 50 m ascension to perform, with willows and boulders on the floor. I need to see.
I will try the second strategy. I put down my bag, take mosquito repellent, put down the head-net and distemper my face the repellent. I do it fast because each time I put my hand on my face, I crush some flies on my face... Probably too fast. A drop goes in my eye.
It is so burning that both of my eyes are closed and I can't even open the other one. By "chance" I had already experienced this kind of misadventure with pimento. I also knew that the repellent was efficient on mosquitoes during about 20 mn. So, I have the hope that pain will stop after that delay. Then I should be able to see, at least with the left eye.
Moreover, there are no many possible passage at this place. It is obvious that I will meet other hikers.
After 20-25 mn, I'm able to open the left eye. More interesting, 5 mn later I open the right one and I'm able to see. But the flies are coming back. I put a second layer of repellent more cautiously and climb the 50 m.
P3 : Hut à l'horizon | P4 : La hut du plateau |
12.45. I'm to the hut. In the hut, there are some information (pictures, GPS coordinates, hand made survey) about the location of a new bridge permitting to cross a river. After eating pasta and tinned sardines, I take a 3 h rest in a bed of the hut.
Two Danish arrived to the hut during my sleep. They speak French because they have spent some time in Belgium: Jesper and his wife.
They were sleeping in the hut and expected to use the canoe that we took. They were walking along the lake without bag: they left the second canoe to three Germans who carried their bag up to the canoe center.
17.15. I start just after them. We will walk together during almost the whole stage up to the next hut. I begin to feel that my bag is lighter and lighter. After a short climb, we cross a plateau, and then climb back a strong slope up to a "V" shaped valley. Then we arrive in a wide bog. The distance to walk in this bog up to the new bridge lead us to look for the ford. Jesper find it. |
P5 : Le plateau et vue sur les marécages | P6 : La vallée en "V" |
I put my beach sandals and walk in a 10 cm deep water. What is the use of the new bridge ? The answer comes in the 3 last meters of the crossing. Indeed, the river is deeper and deeper. Still one meter to reach the other side. I have water up to the girdle, my bag is touching water. My colleagues will prefer to go without trousers but keeping their shoes, that were already wet due to the bogs. It is 20.00 o'clock
P7 : Les marécages vus d'en haut | P8 : Les marécages vus d'en bas |
We follow the hillside; there is no track anymore, only willows, bogs and swamps. By crossing a little valley, I find marble pebbles. This indicates that there are maybe karsts in this area.
We arrive to the next hut. There are two Americans in a bed. Jesper and his wife will take the second one, and it remains a mattress for me, I will sleep on the floor because I plan to leave early in the morning.
With Jesper, we go to the next ford in order to get water. We try to do some panoramic pictures. I cook 250 g noodles and tuna fish outside. My stove is not safe enough to cook inside.
23.45. I fall asleep.
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